11th Reportage: Japanese Shipowners　第11回ルポルタージュ・日本船主

“Loan balances at record highs” and the gloom of “fewer deals for small shipowners”

「融資残高は過去最高」「小規模船主の案件は減少」の憂鬱

“I simply want S&LB (sale and leaseback) transactions at any cost. For overseas operators, Japan’s low yen interest rates must still be attractive. For our part, there is no need to embark on brand-new vessels fresh from the yard. We merely want to acquire depreciable assets to offset the profits swollen by the weak yen. And we need to do so as quickly as possible.”

In mid-February, a small shipowner based in western Japan spoke with a strained expression.

What lies before them is a landscape entirely different from that of the large domestic shipowners, who have orderbooks of 50 or even 100 newbuildings piled up, or from Singapore-based owners holding as many as 140 vessels on order — the so-called major owners.

(Reportage: Japanese Shipowners Reporting Team, distributed every Friday)

第11回ルポルタージュ・日本船主

「融資残高は過去最高」「小規模船主の案件は減少」の憂鬱

　「とにかくS&LB（セール＆リースバック）案件が欲しい。海外オペレーターにとって円の低金利はまだまだ魅力的なはずだ。我々としてもピカピカの新造船をやる必要はない。とりあえず円安で膨らんだ利益を相殺する償却資産を購入したいのだ。それも一刻も早く」

　2月中旬、西日本に拠点を置く小規模船主が厳しい表情で語った。

　そこにあるのは、国内大手船主のように新造船の発注残が50隻、100隻と積み上がっていたり、シンガポール船主のように140隻もの新造船の発注残を持つ「大船主」とは全く異なる風景がある。

（ルポルタージュ・日本船主取材班、毎週金曜日配信）